Obedient to the commands of his Lord
It has been almost a month since my last post, with my exams and Ramadhan, it's difficult to find the right time to compose another writing. However, Alhamdulillah today is the Independence Day of Malaysia, and I have all the time to write.
The first chapter in the book continues about being an obedient servant. This sentence aptly describes this subtopic:
"He never transgresses the limits, and he follows Allah's commands and guidance even when they are contrary to his own desires and the test of the Muslim faith lies in the following of the commands of Allah and His Messenger(pbuh) in all matters; great and small, with no hesitation or reservation.
Surah An-Nisa ayat 65;
"But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction"
Thus the ideal Muslim is obedient, he/she will never give any excuses or object any of Allah's and the Prophet's (pbuh) commands. It is a matter of absolute submission and complete obedience. Without both of these, there is no faith and no Islam.
This topic reminds me of the term "moderate" Muslims. The recent issue of building an Islamic centre about two blocks away from Ground Zero is still under huge debate. In order to win the hearts of Americans, Imam Feisal used to word "moderate" to water down the American's prejudice towards Islam. Below is an excerpt from Associated Press:
"The center's leaders, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and his wife, Daisy Khan, have a long record of interfaith outreach in New York and beyond. They insist the center will be a voice for moderate Islam and will welcome people of all religions."
I do not oppose his good intentions, I support 100% the building of an Islamic centre in New York. He needed to use the word "moderate Islam" in order to dissociate himself from the so called Muslim "extremists" that blew up the World Trade Centre. However, I totally do not agree with the word "moderate".
Can you have a "light Muslim"?, an "intermediate muslim"?, or even an "extreme Muslim"?
The correct word should be "true Muslim". He should be promoting the real Islam, the true Islam that follows the Quran and Sunnah. That Islam that is not only a religion, but Islam that is a way of life(Ad-deen).
"Moderate" Islam is a confusing term. What is a moderate Muslim? Can she choose not to wear the Hijab, but still pray 5 times a day? or Is a moderate Muslim someone who is a Muslim but do not look like one?
It is a very subjective term, thus there should never be many "classes" of Muslims, there must be only one, the true, or ideal Muslim.
The ones that chooses which commands to obey, and hesitates to fulfill Allah's commands are not true Muslims. The ones that promote violence and kills civilians are not true Muslims.
We must revert and relearn what Islam really want us to be. Iqra'(read), that is the Prophet's first revelation from Allah. Read and be knowledgeable, may Allah opens up your heart to His Blessings and grows your Faith day by day.
Wallahu'alam, Assalamualikum.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Chapter One: The Muslim & his Lord
The believer is alert
"Islam requires of the Muslim, first and foremost, that he be a true and sincere believer in Allah, closely connected to Him, constantly remembering Him and putting trust in Him, while making the effort to help himself"
This is the first sentence of chapter one in Dr Muhammad Ali's book and it triggered a thousand questions in my mind.
How can we be a true and sincere believer in Allah? What makes someone a true believer? Do we have a choice in being a true or untrue believer in Allah?
Fortunately, the same day I first read this chapter, the "kuliyyah" after Fajr touched on this topic. How do we become a true servant of Allah?
A servant must obey his master without question. For example, Allah commands us to pray, to cover our aurat, to abstain from pre-marital sex, gambling, alcohol, and more. Thus, a true servant would duly comply without question. He should not even doubt or hesitate for a second whether to comply or not, that is a true servant of God. The issue of aurat, especially in women and men alike is simple actually. One does not need to wait for hidayah or after marriage to cover their aurat since our deeds and sins are counted since puberty, and most importantly, it is Allah's command. We as His servants should not give any excuses, or worse still, complain about it!
We also often ask, does Allah love me? What has Allah gave me all my life?
We as His servants should have asked instead; do I love Allah? How strong is my love towards Allah? What have I done for Allah? What have I contributed to Islam?
My eyes pooled with tears when I asked myself these questions. For the past 22 years, I have been immersed with worldly affairs, forgetting about my Creator, my purpose of being created, not knowing my origins, and ignorant of where I will be returning. By remembering my origin, I realised how small and powerless I am.
I am created from a sperm and an ovum. That itself is an understatement from Allah.
If we think deeper, what is the origin of the sperm and ovum? As advances in science prove it, a sperm/ovum, or any other cell is made up of a cell membrane, cytoplasm and the organelles contained in it. These components are further made up of trillions of atoms! An atom is further divided into electrons and the nucleus. The nucleus is further divided into neutrons, protons, muons and other subatomic particles that we do not even know of. Scientists also are trying to find the so called "God" particle, the Higgs Boson, which they claim to give a particle it's mass.
SubhanAllah, it is mind boggling to think about Allah organising these subatomic particles into stable atoms, molecules, and finally becomes a cell which brought us into this world. Allah also created the universe from these trillions and trillions of subatomic particles, organising them from the smallest system(the atom) into a large one, like the galaxy.
And man dares to be arrogant, to not believe in Allah. Man can claim that they created the car, fighter jets, space shuttles, rockets, huge and tall buildings, but can they create an atom from scratch? The wonders of science and technology should bring us closer to the Creator, not the opposite!
Dr Ali continues in the chapter;
"The true and sincere Muslim is alert and open-minded to the magnificence of Allah's creation"
he also quoted the Qur'an,
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding- men who celebrate the praise of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): "Our Lord! Not for naught have You created (all) this! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the Penalty of the Fire."
(Surah Ali-Imran: 190-191)
There are indeed Signs for men of understanding. Thus, we must strive to gain knowledge and pray that the knowledge we obtain will bring us closer to Allah and motivates us to be a true servant.
"Islam requires of the Muslim, first and foremost, that he be a true and sincere believer in Allah, closely connected to Him, constantly remembering Him and putting trust in Him, while making the effort to help himself"
This is the first sentence of chapter one in Dr Muhammad Ali's book and it triggered a thousand questions in my mind.
How can we be a true and sincere believer in Allah? What makes someone a true believer? Do we have a choice in being a true or untrue believer in Allah?
Fortunately, the same day I first read this chapter, the "kuliyyah" after Fajr touched on this topic. How do we become a true servant of Allah?
A servant must obey his master without question. For example, Allah commands us to pray, to cover our aurat, to abstain from pre-marital sex, gambling, alcohol, and more. Thus, a true servant would duly comply without question. He should not even doubt or hesitate for a second whether to comply or not, that is a true servant of God. The issue of aurat, especially in women and men alike is simple actually. One does not need to wait for hidayah or after marriage to cover their aurat since our deeds and sins are counted since puberty, and most importantly, it is Allah's command. We as His servants should not give any excuses, or worse still, complain about it!
We also often ask, does Allah love me? What has Allah gave me all my life?
We as His servants should have asked instead; do I love Allah? How strong is my love towards Allah? What have I done for Allah? What have I contributed to Islam?
My eyes pooled with tears when I asked myself these questions. For the past 22 years, I have been immersed with worldly affairs, forgetting about my Creator, my purpose of being created, not knowing my origins, and ignorant of where I will be returning. By remembering my origin, I realised how small and powerless I am.
I am created from a sperm and an ovum. That itself is an understatement from Allah.
If we think deeper, what is the origin of the sperm and ovum? As advances in science prove it, a sperm/ovum, or any other cell is made up of a cell membrane, cytoplasm and the organelles contained in it. These components are further made up of trillions of atoms! An atom is further divided into electrons and the nucleus. The nucleus is further divided into neutrons, protons, muons and other subatomic particles that we do not even know of. Scientists also are trying to find the so called "God" particle, the Higgs Boson, which they claim to give a particle it's mass.
SubhanAllah, it is mind boggling to think about Allah organising these subatomic particles into stable atoms, molecules, and finally becomes a cell which brought us into this world. Allah also created the universe from these trillions and trillions of subatomic particles, organising them from the smallest system(the atom) into a large one, like the galaxy.
And man dares to be arrogant, to not believe in Allah. Man can claim that they created the car, fighter jets, space shuttles, rockets, huge and tall buildings, but can they create an atom from scratch? The wonders of science and technology should bring us closer to the Creator, not the opposite!
Dr Ali continues in the chapter;
"The true and sincere Muslim is alert and open-minded to the magnificence of Allah's creation"
he also quoted the Qur'an,
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding- men who celebrate the praise of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): "Our Lord! Not for naught have You created (all) this! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the Penalty of the Fire."
(Surah Ali-Imran: 190-191)
There are indeed Signs for men of understanding. Thus, we must strive to gain knowledge and pray that the knowledge we obtain will bring us closer to Allah and motivates us to be a true servant.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Introduction
The author, Dr Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi, began his introduction dealing with the topic of the Muslim personality, as Islam meant it to be. He noted that many Muslims are often overzealous in some matters but negligent in others. An example was given, regarding a Muslim who insists on attending every prayer and sits in the front row, but he pays no heed to the bad smell emanating from his mouth or clothes.
Yes, it might sound niggly and not so alarming, but i've experienced this many times during prayers at the mosque and it disturbs me. This is the beauty of Islam, every aspect of life is covered.
Then he concludes that:
"So it seems that The Muslim, as intended by these texts(Quran and Sunnah), is supposed to be a decent, social person, whom this unique combination of honorable characteristics distinguishes. These features are described in the Quran and Hadiths, which present them as a religious obligation to be actively pursued by man in the hope of receiving reward from Allah.
He also identified the following topics that defines the Muslim personality:
1. The Muslim and his Lord
2. The Muslim and his own self
3. The Muslim and his parents
4. The Muslim and his wife
5. The Muslim and his children
6. The Muslim and his relatives
7. The Muslim and his neighbours
8. The Muslim and his Muslim brothers and friends
9. The Muslim and his community/society.
I can't wait to read all of these topics, but it is best that I read slowly and try to develop my own Muslim personality step by step.
Halfway through the introduction, a phrase catches my eye:
" were it not for this Divine guidance, mankind would be left wallowing in the mire of selfishness, hatred, domination, and oppression."
This is what is happening to the world now, even in our own beloved country. Thus, we must change, an Ideal Muslim is what we must strive to be. We must teach our young what it means to be an ideal Muslim, and tell them that they have no choice but to be one. It is for the good of they themselves and the society at large.
Dr Muhammad Ali gave an example that I can relate to:
"the evidence of this(the phrase above) is apparent in the behavior of the child, who strives to show his parents that he is better than his brother and seeks to deny that his brother has any of the same decent qualities to which he himself aspires. His natural inclination is to defeat his brother and prove that he is better."
You can just substitute the word "child" there with anything, since the child is the beginning of everything. A politician, statesman, student, teacher, doctor and the list goes on. This behavior destroys us, but Alhamdulillah, Allah has given us guidance to steer us away from it. We just need to look for it by instilling the hunger for knowldege and having the enthusiasm of improving oneself.
Dr Ali continues:
"Here we can see the value of religion and education in controlling this sickness, reducing his self-admiration and paving the way towards moderation, wisdom and humility."
He also wrote: "thinkers and writers have a duty to explain these noble values and present them in an easily-understood and attractive fashion so that people will be able to develop the values and attitudes which Allah intend for them, thus enabling them to enjoy a decent and pleasant life"
I hope to be as knowledgeable as the author and other Muslim scholars that have inspired millions of Muslims accross the globe. Hence, I take this blog as my starting point to further understand Islam and convey it to others in a simple and easily understood way.
Assalamualaikum.
Yes, it might sound niggly and not so alarming, but i've experienced this many times during prayers at the mosque and it disturbs me. This is the beauty of Islam, every aspect of life is covered.
Then he concludes that:
"So it seems that The Muslim, as intended by these texts(Quran and Sunnah), is supposed to be a decent, social person, whom this unique combination of honorable characteristics distinguishes. These features are described in the Quran and Hadiths, which present them as a religious obligation to be actively pursued by man in the hope of receiving reward from Allah.
He also identified the following topics that defines the Muslim personality:
1. The Muslim and his Lord
2. The Muslim and his own self
3. The Muslim and his parents
4. The Muslim and his wife
5. The Muslim and his children
6. The Muslim and his relatives
7. The Muslim and his neighbours
8. The Muslim and his Muslim brothers and friends
9. The Muslim and his community/society.
I can't wait to read all of these topics, but it is best that I read slowly and try to develop my own Muslim personality step by step.
Halfway through the introduction, a phrase catches my eye:
" were it not for this Divine guidance, mankind would be left wallowing in the mire of selfishness, hatred, domination, and oppression."
This is what is happening to the world now, even in our own beloved country. Thus, we must change, an Ideal Muslim is what we must strive to be. We must teach our young what it means to be an ideal Muslim, and tell them that they have no choice but to be one. It is for the good of they themselves and the society at large.
Dr Muhammad Ali gave an example that I can relate to:
"the evidence of this(the phrase above) is apparent in the behavior of the child, who strives to show his parents that he is better than his brother and seeks to deny that his brother has any of the same decent qualities to which he himself aspires. His natural inclination is to defeat his brother and prove that he is better."
You can just substitute the word "child" there with anything, since the child is the beginning of everything. A politician, statesman, student, teacher, doctor and the list goes on. This behavior destroys us, but Alhamdulillah, Allah has given us guidance to steer us away from it. We just need to look for it by instilling the hunger for knowldege and having the enthusiasm of improving oneself.
Dr Ali continues:
"Here we can see the value of religion and education in controlling this sickness, reducing his self-admiration and paving the way towards moderation, wisdom and humility."
He also wrote: "thinkers and writers have a duty to explain these noble values and present them in an easily-understood and attractive fashion so that people will be able to develop the values and attitudes which Allah intend for them, thus enabling them to enjoy a decent and pleasant life"
I hope to be as knowledgeable as the author and other Muslim scholars that have inspired millions of Muslims accross the globe. Hence, I take this blog as my starting point to further understand Islam and convey it to others in a simple and easily understood way.
Assalamualaikum.
1st August 2010: The Journey Begins.
Tonight is not an ordinary night as I expected it would be, albeit 12 midnight spells my 22nd birthday. Long have been the years when I gleefully waited for the date 1st of August to come every year, probably since I was 13 or 14. It was the day when I would have my friends to come along and sing the usual birthday "anthem". Then the new toys, clothes, and even cash would follow.
Those were the days.
Later on, there were no more birthday parties, there were usually annual family dinners to commemorate 4 birthdays together: my father's(18th August), my eldest brother's(31st August), me and my little sister(18th August). Then I went to a boarding school, and since then my birthday is just an ordinary day to me until now.
I stumbled upon a book amongst my father's humongous collection. It is not the book which shouts "pick me, pick me!", but nevertheless the title of the book caught my eye.
The cover is very simple, a beige centre, with a half-a-ruler's thick of dark brown border, and sandwhiched between them a sliver of white line. The title is in dark brown, and is somewhat expressed subtly and with tranquility, it says; "The Ideal Muslim".
Authored by Dr Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi and translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab, it is the best gift I have received in my life for now. Subhanallah, I read it page by page, slowly and found many answers that I seek for all these years. This book is based on the Quran and Sunnah, how complete they are in guiding us! I was astonished, thinking about all these years I have been reciting the Quran blindly and listening to Hadith and subsequently forgetting it.
I hope to read it slowly and share what I understand in this blog. To my fellow brothers and sisters who stumbled upon this blog, I do appreciate words of advice from you.
Assalamualaikum.
Those were the days.
Later on, there were no more birthday parties, there were usually annual family dinners to commemorate 4 birthdays together: my father's(18th August), my eldest brother's(31st August), me and my little sister(18th August). Then I went to a boarding school, and since then my birthday is just an ordinary day to me until now.
I stumbled upon a book amongst my father's humongous collection. It is not the book which shouts "pick me, pick me!", but nevertheless the title of the book caught my eye.
The cover is very simple, a beige centre, with a half-a-ruler's thick of dark brown border, and sandwhiched between them a sliver of white line. The title is in dark brown, and is somewhat expressed subtly and with tranquility, it says; "The Ideal Muslim".
Authored by Dr Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi and translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab, it is the best gift I have received in my life for now. Subhanallah, I read it page by page, slowly and found many answers that I seek for all these years. This book is based on the Quran and Sunnah, how complete they are in guiding us! I was astonished, thinking about all these years I have been reciting the Quran blindly and listening to Hadith and subsequently forgetting it.
I hope to read it slowly and share what I understand in this blog. To my fellow brothers and sisters who stumbled upon this blog, I do appreciate words of advice from you.
Assalamualaikum.
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